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How current Ireland side stack up against O'Driscoll's 'Golden Generation'

Ireland centre Brian O' Driscoll (r) and Paul O' Connell line up before the RBS Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on February 22, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Former Ireland scrumhalf Peter Stringer believes the current Ireland team is set to eclipse Ireland’s so-called ‘Golden Generation ‘ team of the mid-noughties.

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In 2009 the Golden Generation – which featured the likes of Brian O’Dricoll, Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara became the first Ireland team to claim a Grand Slam since 1951.

Following the 1990s – a decade that is largely best forgotten by Irish rugby –  generational talents like O’Connell and O’Driscoll dragged Ireland from wooden spoon contenders to serial title challengers. It was a step-change that ultimately laid the foundations for the current era of Irish rugby professionals, who can now rightly be regarded as one of the sport’s superpowers.

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“There’s a real feel-good factor around this Ireland team, which is incredible after the heartbreak of the World Cup,” said Stringer.  “People were talking about needing a rebuilding phase while they learned to cope without Johnny Sexton, but they’re still on that upward trajectory.

“When Johnny retired, not only was there the void of the No.10 jersey to be filled, but also the absence of their captain that could prove costly from a game management perspective. Peter O’Mahony has filled those boots heroically. He’s also been fortunate to have other leaders emerge within the squad to assist with decision-making, which has meant that responsibility of captaincy has not detracted from his game, where he is often buried at the bottom of a ruck.

“Jack Crowley has come in and shown a real level of maturity. He’s done the basics well and hasn’t tried to do too much. Yes, he’s got the ability to take the ball to the line and create something through offloads, but getting those fundamentals right is what it takes to be a really good player at international level. There’s been plenty of pressure on him, but he’s managed things well from that key position.

“Ireland have been quite comfortable in the Six Nations so far and have only really had to play in fits and starts, but they’ve still shown glimpses of being able to go up a gear if needed. It’s certainly hard to see either England or Scotland stopping them from becoming the first team to win a second consecutive Grand Slam.”

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But how do they stack up to the Golden Generation? Stringer – who won 98 caps for Ireland as one of the central protagonists of the era – thinks that the current crop will be crowned the ‘best Irish team ever’ if they manage to secure a back-to-back Grand Slam.

“I was lucky enough to be part of the first Ireland team to win a Six Nations Grand Slam alongside some of the greats like Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and Ronan O’Gara. It is such a difficult thing to do, particularly in years like this with games away to France and England.

“Ireland are so well drilled, play with a huge amount of confidence and have a real identity. To go back-to-back in the manner they’re doing it – scoring so many tries and racking up bonus points – I think would cement them as the best Irish team ever.”

You can read the full article here.

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Comments

3 Comments
D
Dave 497 days ago

They are already miles ahead of them the golden generation eventually got the grand slam in 09 after years of falling short with triple crowns under Eddie O Sullivan.

Never beat the all blacks and didn’t go to world cups with a serious shot of winning it.


They where a great Irish team and probably the best ever at the time or at least a giant improvement on the 90s era Ireland but the current team are definitely better

also it was 1948 not 1951 the only grand slam before them

T
Tom 496 days ago

One of the things I like about this Ireland team is while the standard of players is excellent throughout the squad… they don't have many superstars. BOD, ROG and O’Connell were individually better than their modern counterparts, but the current generation are super consistent from 1-23 and even better than the sum of their parts. Scotland are also similar in that regard although not in the same league as Ireland, Messi and Duhan not withstanding.

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Jfp123 32 minutes ago
France push All Blacks to 80th minute in narrow Dunedin defeat

So, you think top rugby players’ wages ought to be kept artificially low, when in fact the forces of “demand and supply” mean that many can and indeed are commanding wages higher than you approve of, and even though players regularly get injured, and those injuries can be serious enough to cut short careers and even threaten lives, e.g. Steven Kitshoff.

.

As far as I can make out your objections amount to

1) they’ve sent a B team, which is not what we do and I don’t like it. Is there more to it than that? You haven’t replied to the points I made previously about sell out Tests and high ticket prices, so I take it reduced earnings are no longer part of your argument. Possibly you’re disappointed at not seeing Dupont et al., but a lot of New Zealanders think he is over rated anyway.


2) The Top 14 is paying players too much, leading to wage inflation around the world which is bad for the sport.

Firstly, young athletes have a range of sports to choose from, so rugby holding out the prospect of a lucrative, glamorous career helps attract talent.

Above all, market forces mean the French clubs earn a lot of money, and spend a large part of that money on relatively high wages, within a framework set by the league to maintain the health of the league. This framework includes the salary cap and Jiff rules which in effect limit the number of foreign stars the clubs employ and encourage the development of young talent, so there is a limit on Top14 demand. The Toulon of the 2010s is a thing of the past.


So yes, the French clubs cream off some top players - they are competitive sports teams, what do expect them to do with their money? - but there’s still a there’s a plentiful supply of great rugby players and coaches without French contracts. The troubles in England and Wales were down to mismanagement of those national bodies, and clubs themselves, not the French


So if you don’t want to let market forces determine wage levels, and you do want to prevent the French clubs from spending so much of their large incomes on players, how on earth do you want to set player wages?


Is the problem that NZ can’t pay so much as the Top 14 and you fear the best players will be lured away and/or you want NZ franchises to compete for leading international talent? Are you asking for NZ wage scales to be adopted as the maximum allowed, to achieve this? But in that case why not take Uruguay, or Spain, or Tonga or Samoa as the standard, so Samoa, a highly talented rugby nation, can keep Samoan players in Samoa, not see them leave for higher wages in NZ and elsewhere.

Rugby is played in lots of countries, with hugely varying levels of financial backing etc. Obviously, it’s more difficult for some than others, but aside for a limited amount of help from world rugby, it’s up to each one to make their sums add up, and make the most of the particular advantages their nation/club/franchise has. SA are not the richest, but are still highly successful, and I don’t hear them complaining about Top14 wages.


Many, particularly second tier, nations benefit from the Top14, and anyone genuinely concerned about the whole community of world rugby should welcome that. England and NZ have laid down rules so they can’t make the most of the French competition, which is up to them. But unlike some NZ fans and pundits, the English aren’t generally blaming their own woes on the French, rather they want reform of the English structure, and some are calling for lessons to learned from their neighbours across the channel. If NZ fans aren’t satisfied, I suggest they call for internal reform, not try to make the French scapegoats.


In my opinion, a breach of standards would be to include on your team players who beat up women, not to regularly send a B team on the summer tours for reasons of player welfare, which in all the years you’ve been doing this only some of the pundits and fans of a single country have made a stink about.


[my comments here are, of course, not aimed at all NZ fans and pundits]

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